Outdoor Stations of the Cross at the St. Benedict Abbey yesterday. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing hard! But it was good to get out there and pray with the monks and friends.
I think I will have to skip planting and just go ahead and harvest these greens! Things are getting out of control here…
And the most flattering photo of my DIY “greenhouse.” I give it a C- for aesthetics, an upgrade from last year, because I figured out how to use the 10 x 25′ plastic sheet as optimally as I am able, and so my OCD is somewhat pacified, or was — this photo was from yesterday and today I woke up to find that the intense wind we had last night blew it over, sigh…
I will put the process of making it in my Instagram highlights at some point. (It will not be hard to set up again, I'm pretty sure! And then I will get around to putting the bins of water on the lower shelves, which will help anchor it.)
What you have to understand (and maybe you do understand if you live in the country in New England) is that to me this is a scene of unbelievable hope, greenery or some sort of whiff of it, and promise, not as you might think by looking at it, one of dismal sad barren sogginess, over the permafrost.
And so, having a big pillar of plastic in my yard is not repugnant to me! Soon it will be filled with my cold-tolerant plants (after the beginning of the coming week when temps in the teens and snow are predicted due to Third Winter being upon us!).
The changing of the seasons is a miracle, but spring is a miracle above and beyond. I don't know that people really stop to think of how dependable the seasons are. Even when an expected change is delayed and we become anxious (“it snowed in May!”), that is proof that we depend completely on the world turning in the way it does and always has.
There is order and pattern in life that is completely given. There is nothing we can do to disrupt it. The leaves will fall from the trees; the wind will blow in March. Or whatever it does where you live, as the world turns.
As we try to live in harmony with this pattern, we become aware of a pattern above it, or underlying it (its cause, you might say). If the material world conforms to an unshakeable order, it's the mind that perceives it to be so and discerns that order. The mind is not material — it is immaterial — spiritual.
The spiritual world is real and has a pattern of its own, one that is not aloof from the natural, material one. I think that the more we are aware of the one, the more open we are to the other, and the richer our life becomes, for ourselves and for others.
Lent is certainly one part of the rhythm. Even though we are deep in the middle of it, and that can be wearying, it's good to know that we are part of this ineluctable cycle, and that we can depend on the promise it offers.
bits & pieces
- A really fun drone video (90 seconds) that is attracting a lot of attention.
- In many places, it's getting hard to pray and worship. I was just reminded of a great little interview that Bishop Schneider gave a bit more than a year ago, on how to raise children in hard times. I wanted to post it here again: this article in LifeSite News explains how my book The Little Oratory (affiliate link) helps families and friends pray in the home, exactly as he describes, and his interview is linked within.
- This “Statement of Conscience to Awaken Conscience” is written by a friend of mine, Catherine Pakaluk. I think it expresses very well the moral dangers, past, present, and future, of medical products that in some way use aborted fetal tissue, and the dangers to conscience. I urge you to read, sign, and share. My husband wrote about it here.
- The complement to last week's post on when a man proposes, from John Cuddeback: When a woman says yes.
- Fr. Emil Kapaun's story transcends the expectations we have for normal human behavior. The saints are miracles; they challenge us to live differently. What shines through the details is Fr. Kapaun's… cheerfulness. Even though I hate reading about war and its horrors, I love reading about Fr. Kapaun; the article is about the good news that his remains have been identified.
from the archives
liturgical living
Tomorrow is Laetare Sunday! Plan now for extra merriment to keep spirits up!
follow us everywhere!
My new “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest. Bridget’s Pinterest.
Carol Kennedy says
Thank you to you and the Chief for being willing to take a stand on the unpopular topic of vaccines! When our church hierarchy are urging, or at least implying, that we have a moral obligation to inject ourselves with an experimental gene therapy, or any actual vaccine, AND that injection was developed using the bodies of aborted babies, we know we are in an historical crisis in the history of the Church! Also, I find it interesting that the only three comments on Phil’s article are of the “but what about all these other bad things over here” variety! So we shouldn’t fight one evil because we don’t fight them all equally?
athena says
Your homemade greenhouse is brilliant. Not having an Instagram account, I won’t see your details, however in pondering how I might replicate……if you had a solid post, for instance two metal T-posts which are not horribly expensive from Home Depot, it would be a cinch (pun intended) to zip-tie the apparatus to the posts and secure from wind. Now…assuming you eventually move the greenhouse out of the garden bed when not in use, the T-posts will need to be conveniently and pleasantly located, however they could be further used to support a trellis or wire mesh for growing vertically (green beans would love it, or perhaps Morning Glories would be delightful). Fun to think about.
Leila says
Yes, I have four rebars in the ground and the shelves are zip-tied to it. It has withstood a lot of wind in previous years, but I had gotten my “ballast” (in the form of bins filled with water, also handy for watering!) onto the lower shelves before it came in.
This time I just hadn’t gotten to it.
The rebar stays and it’s fine because they don’t stick out too far. They are 3′ rebar and they go into the ground halfway — and certainly could support some other structure! By the way, although I just stow the shelves once the seedlings are out, I do use the trellises in the garden all summer.
When you think about it, metal shelves just work so well as shelves and support for the plastic!
If you search “DIY greenhouse” here on the blog you will see the two other posts. I have more pics and I will post them on IG — you don’t have to have an account to see them, I think? Or do you?
athena says
Yes! I found your May 11 and June 1, 2019 posts, and now I see the rebar (which must surely be easier to install than T-posts). This is smacking my head ingenious and my imagination has been buzzing all day with plans…shelves to hold All The Things, water carboys that get filled as needed instead of having to frequently drag the heavy water hose around, the watering can, a bin with the thrifted vases so flower arrangements can be made on the spot.
Instagram (on Safari) lets me have a peep, then very politely asks me to login to continue. No worries, those photos and the little video from 2019 are thorough.
Ashley says
Hi, Auntie Leila! Looking ahead to the Solemnity of St. Joseph – do you make or bake anything special? I know the Italians have Pane di San Giuseppe and sfinge but I am curious what you do. In the past I’ve always just made a special meal but I like the idea of always having something special that we only do for a particular Saint day. My church has a bread blessing before Mass on Friday so it had me thinking of traditions for the Solemnity.
Leila says
Hi Ashley,
We do different things, but in the past I have occasionally made eclairs… Coming off of St. Patrick’s and then my son’s birthday on the 18th, I am often a bit behind, but we try to do something special. I agree that it’s so nice to have one thing that you offer just on a certain day!